Dear Sticky Wicket,
Do all races and ethnicities experience racism or is it just something minorities deal with
~Confused in Dallas
Dear Confused,
Racism comes in all colors. As long as there are differences among people there will always be prejudice. No race or nationality is immune to it.
The struggles of blacks and other minorities in America have always served as textbook examples of racism. But in certain arenas whites can be victims of racism as well.
One example is the 2009 Ricci v. Stefano Supreme Court case in which white firefighters felt they suffered discrimination when their employer threw out a promotional exam because none of the black firefighters passed the test.
Another example might include how whites are often perceived as being racist by minorities until proven innocent. That perception sets up a fear that hinders needed discussions on race because whites are scared of saying the wrong thing, says Jennifer Tilton, Associate Professor, Race & Ethnic Studies at University of Redlands and author.
“Because we’re not comfortable talking about the different ways race works in our society, white people are really afraid of being called racists,” Tilton says.
How we are all victims of racism depends on how we define racism, she adds. When we have a discourse on racism it’s usually thought of in terms of stereotypes and outright hatred. Tilton says that most scholars on the subject today think it’s important to think of racism in structural terms.
“That’s thinking about how race historically and today structures opportunities for folks as they grow up, as they look for jobs, etcetera, and by that criteria, it is very rare for white folks to experience structural racism,” Tilton says.
Racism ultimately hurts us all because it stands in the path of solving the fundamental economic problems we face in this country, Tilton adds. Middle class society often distances itself from the plight of the poor as the image of poverty is seen as black or Latino. That perception hurts the many impoverished whites in this country.
“Racism in fact gets in the way of us even seeing or addressing the realities of unequal opportunity across race and class in this country,” Tilton says.